Thanks for the post - it's great to read your story and your humorous approach to prose is fun to read. I have one question for you - from a fellow asthmatic who happens to be a professional flutist. Did you ever get your asthma controlled to the point that you can exercise vigorously and freely without symptoms? I have yet to find the magic combination for that, after 12+ years of searching and living with asthma.
I still try to run 5 miles per day, like I did in my pre-asthma days (flutists have to have great lungs and a good, unrestricted airflow/air supply so running 5 miles per day is sort of the "gold standard" for us in addition to other training tools), but I always end up running a block or two, then walking some, then alternating running and walking. Many have told me to forget about running and to just walk, but I just can't stand to walk - my feet always want to break into a run. I was pretty stubborn about it (ok - really stubborn, to the point that I about killed myself a couple of times running in 104+ degree heat with high ozone levels) and I stuck with a 3 mile course for years, always thinking that one day I could connect the segments that I ran and then I'd be running the whole distance. That never happened, but I did end up running about 2 miles per day and walking 1, which was pretty good for a severe asthmatic who was steroid-dependent for quite a while.
I've been out of training for a few years (I had three kids, I was just starting to get back into shape and then I had a broken foot for 9 months) and I'm just starting to run short segments again. For now I've just started with running 1/2 a mile up to the school a few times a week (I've only been out of the fracture shoe for a few weeks now). People give me funny looks as the wheezing and coughing is so bad on the cold days, but I"ve noticed that I do pretty well on the milder ones, and that after only a couple of weeks of running. I'd love to figure out a regimen that would allow me to run freely, but I've only been able to accomplish that on 3 days since I got asthma 12 years ago.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy story. I just wondered how you managed exercise after you achieved good control. I wouldn't say that my control is excellent (well, at the moment it's terrible but those pesky respiratory infections don't help) but it's been better during the past year than the other 11 years. Probably the broken foot and lower activitiy levels contributed to the illusion of good control, but I did walk 2-3 miles every day and I swam during the summer, even with a broken foot. I just couldn't walk very fast or run at all during that time (well, I did run several days when it was snowy before I knew that my foot was broken - I did see a doc about it about 6 weeks after I broke it).
Issy
<!--Session data-->
<!--Session data-->
Thanks for the post - it's great to read your story and your humorous approach to prose is fun to read. I have one question for you - from a fellow asthmatic who happens to be a professional flutist. Did you ever get your asthma controlled to the point that you can exercise vigorously and freely without symptoms? I have yet to find the magic combination for that, after 12+ years of searching and living with asthma.
I still try to run 5 miles per day, like I did in my pre-asthma days (flutists have to have great lungs and a good, unrestricted airflow/air supply so running 5 miles per day is sort of the "gold standard" for us in addition to other training tools), but I always end up running a block or two, then walking some, then alternating running and walking. Many have told me to forget about running and to just walk, but I just can't stand to walk - my feet always want to break into a run. I was pretty stubborn about it (ok - really stubborn, to the point that I about killed myself a couple of times running in 104+ degree heat with high ozone levels) and I stuck with a 3 mile course for years, always thinking that one day I could connect the segments that I ran and then I'd be running the whole distance. That never happened, but I did end up running about 2 miles per day and walking 1, which was pretty good for a severe asthmatic who was steroid-dependent for quite a while.
I've been out of training for a few years (I had three kids, I was just starting to get back into shape and then I had a broken foot for 9 months) and I'm just starting to run short segments again. For now I've just started with running 1/2 a mile up to the school a few times a week (I've only been out of the fracture shoe for a few weeks now). People give me funny looks as the wheezing and coughing is so bad on the cold days, but I"ve noticed that I do pretty well on the milder ones, and that after only a couple of weeks of running. I'd love to figure out a regimen that would allow me to run freely, but I've only been able to accomplish that on 3 days since I got asthma 12 years ago.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy story. I just wondered how you managed exercise after you achieved good control. I wouldn't say that my control is excellent (well, at the moment it's terrible but those pesky respiratory infections don't help) but it's been better during the past year than the other 11 years. Probably the broken foot and lower activitiy levels contributed to the illusion of good control, but I did walk 2-3 miles every day and I swam during the summer, even with a broken foot. I just couldn't walk very fast or run at all during that time (well, I did run several days when it was snowy before I knew that my foot was broken - I did see a doc about it about 6 weeks after I broke it).
Issy
<!--Session data-->
<!--Session data-->